From functional prototypes with exacting tolerances, to manufacturing tools that perform under pressure, the Fortus 450mc 3D production system sets a high bar for speed, performance, and accuracy. In this blog post, learn why Mark Dewey, Senior Sales Engineer, would recommend a customer to invest in the Fortus 450.
Meet Mark Dewey
Meet our Senior Sales Engineer, Mark Dewey. Mark began his career at Purple in 2010 and took a brief break in 2014 to work at Stratasys. In 2017, Mark flew back to the Purple nest and is happy to be representing the most advanced technologies on the market, from Stratasys, Roland, Desktop Metal, and eviXscan. Mark loves being able to offer customers a well-rounded experience with engineers, beautiful parts, and endless additive solutions. Connect with Mark on LinkedIn.
What does the Fortus 450 excel at?
Well the Fortus 450 really excels at producing repeatable, high quality prototypes, manufacturing tooling, and high-value end-use parts out of high performance plastics, such as ULTEM and PEKK. It can do the widest array of materials out of the Stratasys line-up, so there’s quite a value.
What industries do you see it being used in?
That’s a tough one, because at Purple Platypus we deal with all sorts of industries. But, really, I’d say it’s mostly within the aerospace, commercial manufacturing, medical devices, and consumer product manufacturers. All of those industries can use it for prototyping, manufacturing tooling, and end-use products.
What are the key differences between the Fortus 380 and the 450? When should someone opt for a certain machine?
The Fortus 380 and 450 proposition is guided by a couple of options. The build size is often a deciding factor, with the Fortus 380 being 14 x 12 x 12 inches and the Fortus 450 being 16 x 14 x 16 inches. The other factor is the need for materials. If you need a high-temp, high-performance material, such as ULTEM and PEKK, then the Fortus 450 is the way to go. The Fortus 380 will just get you into a standard ABS, ASA, and engineering materials, such as PC-ABS and nylon.
What are the key differences between the Fortus 450 and the Fortus 900?
Yeah, there’s a couple of things about the Fortus 900 and Fortus 450. Not only the build size, of course, with the F900 being our largest system at 3 x 2 x 3 feet, for a build area. But also, the 900 is our most accurate system. In the aerospace world especially, the 900 is a production system, producing end-use parts to fly on planes. The certification value that you get out of that particular piece of equipment, as well as the build size, is key.
Why would you recommend that a customer considers purchasing a Fortus 450?
In a nutshell, it’s got a great value proposition. For a reasonable price, you can get a printer that is able to produce repeatable, accurate results, with over 13 standard, engineering, and high-performance materials. It’s a valuable piece of equipment, that regularly produces a return on investment in less than one year.
To learn more about the Fortus 450, contact our team by phone at 949.474.9222 or by email at [email protected].
